Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Information about our Palm Sunday session this Sunday -- please read; very important!



Hi everyone,

I wanted to give some details on next Sunday, since we will be doing things a little differently with the CGS program.

Father Gabriel has asked us to participate in the 9:30 a.m. Palm Sunday Mass processional up to church.  Because the rest of the congregation will also be meeting in the PAR for prayers before the processional, there may be a large group in the PAR.  So I’m asking parents to follow these procedures:

Processional procedures
1) Bring their children into one of our regular rooms;  Ms. Elise, catechists and junior helpers will direct you to the correct room.

2) Please check in your child using the check-in sheet, but your child does not need his/her name tag.  Each child will be given a name tag with the name of one of Jesus’ disciples.  (This is something we will be using when we return to our rooms after the processional.) 

3) Those children who were at last Sunday’s session will have a palm  (made out of their handprint, which we traced last Sunday) to carry. 

IF YOUR CHILD WAS NOT AT LAST SUNDAY’S SESSION, PLEASE WORK WITH YOUR CHILD TO MAKE A ‘HANDPRINT PALM’  FOLLOWING THE DIRECTIONS HERE:

http://tillerytimes.blogspot.com/2012/04/palm-sunday-2012.html 

(Please take a few moments to do this; I want to make sure no child feels left out because s/he doesn't have a palm to carry.) 

3) We’ll wait in the room and then move into the larger section of the PAR when the prayers begin.  I would like all the CGS families to stay together at the end of the processional  line.  This will make it easier for the catechists and junior helpers to collect your children when we reach the narthex.  We will process to the far side of the narthex near the entrance to the cry room.  At this point,  you can enter the church and we’ll take the group of children downstairs back to the PAR.  If you think your child might suffer a bit of separation anxiety, please feel free to walk back with us.

This week’s CGS session
I originally planned to do a small “Liturgy of the Light” celebration with the children, but this would be a bit difficult with the processional starting the PAR.  Instead, we are going to do the Last Supper Paraliturgy, which is basically a re-enacting of the Last Supper.  Last Sunday in the atrium I used a small diorama and wood peg people to  tell the story of Jesus’ Last Supper,  so this will reinforce the message of that lesson.  .
We will sit around a long low table that has been placed on the floor and the junior helpers will act out the Last Supper for us.  We pass around matzo (unleavened bread) on a paten to share (each person is invited to break off a piece) and grape juice in a chalice (sipping the juice is optional).  After singing some songs, we then enjoy a snack of matzo bread and grape juice (juice in individual cups).  

IF THERE ARE ANY ALLERGIES TO MATZO BREAD OR GRAPE JUICE PLEASE LET ME KNOW.  

We will wait for you to pick  us up in our atrium room using the usual pick-up procedure.  (The poster board with the index cards and name tags will be back in the larger PAR room when you return.)

This is such a wonderful, memorable celebration for the children!  At the other CGS atria where I’ve been a catechist, the children love this paraliturgy because it makes this important moment more real for them.   Every year as we would draw close to Palm Sunday, they would ask “are we going to act out the Last Supper again this year?”  

If you have any questions, please drop me an email.
Blessings,
Cheryl

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